Alaska impressions 4

Mount Denali, in all its glory:



You can't be in Alaska and not see a moose:






This is an Arctic Ground Squirrel. A common sight in Denali, it has a caloric value equivalent to that of a large cheese pizza. Hence, it is a favorite of grizzly bears :)


Once in a while, it emits a super-loud beep:


Here comes another beep... wait for it...


... wait for it...


...Beep!


Dallas Sheep. They were originally the reason the Denali park was formed - to preserve their habitat.


What time do you think this picture was taken? Hint: it's 3 degrees below the Arctic Circle, and it's a few days before the summer solstice...

Answer: it's 11pm in this picture. Check out the sunlight still on the mountains behind the pines!

One of the tan tour buses in the park. (Mount Denali in the background.)


The green buses are shuttles, ferrying people along the single unpaved road in the park:


Eielson Visitor Center - mile 66 on the Denali park road.


Mount Denali has three glaciers - two on the left (one right above the other), and one in the center:


Polychrome Range:








The best for the last - Mount Denali close-up:

Alaska birds

Bald Eagle was the bird I saw the most in Alaska. I saw a few almost every day, including this one in Resurrection Bay near Seward:





The other birds I was looking forward to seeing in Alaska were the puffins. They have two kinds - this one is a Tufted Puffin:


And this is a Horned Puffin:


Harlequin Ducks are few and far between on the East Coast - and only in winter. But in Alaska, you can get really good looks!


An Aleutian version of the widespread Song Sparrow:


This is also a Song Sparrow - a more common variation, almost the same as we have in the East:


American Tree Sparrow in Denali:


An immature Gray Jay in Anchorage:


A Raven nest under a bridge in Denali. Our driver slowed down to point it out to us. One of these birds is the juvenile, but it's already big enough to start flying on its own.


Orange-crowned Warbler in Seward:


A few more looks at Harlequin Ducks:




Dark-eyed Junco - another bird that is a sure indicator of winter in New York:


White-crowned Sparrow:


Violet-Green Swallow:


Tufted Puffins in flight:




A pair of Thick-billed Murres. Murres, puffins, and other seabirds make colonies on the cliffs around Resurrection Bay.

Alaska impressions 3

When someone markets a "26 Glacier Cruise", how can you refuse? It's a cruise out of a town called Whittier, AK through Prince William Sound. It's the same coast where ocean-going Alaska cruises take people to see the glaciers.

You can see the scale of the place in this first picture - the ship in the distance is one of these large ocean cruise-ships:






Lots of fisherman boats in the sound:



What you see in the picture above is the entire town of Whittier. It's the strangest town in America - all of it fits into that one building. Everything from city hall to kindergarden - in that one building.

Close-up of the waterfall: